Ulloor S Parameswara Iyer

Ulloor S Parameswara Iyer Biography

Ulloor S Parameswara Iyer is one among the triumvirate poets of Kerala of 20^th century. Other two poets are Kumaran Asan and Vallathol Narayana Menon. Ulloor S Parameswara Iyer is a Mahakavi (great poet) who has written Mahakavyam – Uma Kerala. Parameswara Iyer’s works are most concentrated in Ulloor of capital city Thiruvananthapuram Kerala, the then Travancore Kingdom and hence most commonly he is called Ulloor. In actual means, Ulloor is a place very near to Thiruvananthapuram Medical College. He is one among those great poets of Malayalam who have attempted to revive classic heritage of Malayalam poetry. He was a famous historian also. His works Uma Keralam and Kerala Sahitya Charitham are the best instances for his brilliance as a historian.

Ulloor was born in Changanassery of Kottayam district in the year 1877. He, along with Kumaran Asan and Vallathol gave new face to Malayalam poetry and gave it a modern touch. Also, as they belong to same period (from late 1800’s to early 1900’s) these poets were referred to as Kavithrayam (Triumvirate) poets of modern Malayalam. Ulloor is one among the most talented poets modern Kerala has ever witnessed.

He has worked as a civil servant of Travancore kingdom and has become chief secretary also. When he started his works, he was most influenced by Sanskrit words and such words are most common in his early works. Later on, he gave preference to Malayalam words thus giving a new direction to Malayalam literature. One of his early works, Prema Sangeetham compiled the history of Malayalam literature for the first time. This philosophical poem literally means ‘Music of love’ and it ends with a note – you, I and almighty are one. He published the mahakavyam Uma Keralam in the year 1914. It’s for his work on this mahakavyam that he got the designation of Maha Kavi (Great poet) of Malayalam literature. Its theme is a particular phase of Kerala History. It describes the political status of Kerala during 17^th century and is considered as a precious gem of Malayalam literature. His other literary works include Chitrasala, Kerala Sahitya Charitham, Pingala, Karnabhooshanam and Bhakthideepika. He has contributed in the form of prose as well as poetry.  

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Updated: June 16, 2013